Tuesday, January 29, 2013

U.S. bottleneck snags Florida Orchestra's Cuba exchange

By John Fleming, Times Performing Arts CriticIn Print: Tuesday, January 29, 2013

The Florida Orchestra has run into the first real glitch in its cultural exchange with Cuba. On Friday, the orchestra learned it had to postpone plans to send concertmaster Jeffrey Multer to perform on Feb. 10 with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba in Havana.

The reason: The Office of Foreign Asset Control, part of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, was unable to process the orchestra's application for a license to spend money in Cuba in time for the trip, scheduled to begin Feb. 4.

Under the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba, the license from OFAC is necessary for travel to the island.

"Without that license you can't buy a plane ticket to get to Cuba, you can't pay the entrance fee to get into Cuba, you can't pay for hotels or food," orchestra president Michael Pastreich said. "You can't spend a penny on getting there or being there without the license."

In September 2011, a wind quintet from the orchestra traveled to Havana for a concert to inaugurate the exchange, and there was no problem in securing the license. This time, the orchestra applied almost seven weeks before Multer's departure, but OFAC is getting more applications these days as U.S. organizations move to take advantage of loosening of restrictions on travel to the island.

"The challenge OFAC is dealing with is that lots of people are going to Cuba now," Pastreich said. "Their staffing hasn't increased to accommodate the flow."

Multer was going to be the soloist in the Sibelius Violin Concerto with the Cuban orchestra, and there were also plans for him to give master classes. Pastreich and other managers were to accompany him to begin laying the groundwork for a proposed trip by the entire orchestra in 2014.

Last year, two installments took place in the Florida-Cuba musical exchange.

In May, Enrique Pérez Mesa, the Cuban music director, made his U.S. debut conducting the Florida Orchestra. In November, the Cuban National Symphony toured to the Tampa Bay area to play a chamber music concert at the old Cuban Club in Ybor City and a full orchestra concert at Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg.

Monday, Pastreich was hoping the Cubans were accustomed to snags in relations with U.S. groups and would readily reschedule Multer's visit.

"In exchanges between the two countries, everybody has experienced things not working out from either country's end," he said. "My assumption is that this will not be a unique experience for them."

John Fleming can be reached at fleming@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8716.

Monday, January 28, 2013

"A rich experience. I would recommend the
program to any colleagues interested in Cuba. MEDICC is doing good work, and I
look forward to joint ventures with the Arizona Center for Integrative
Medicine."

MEDICC's
health-related itineraries are tailored to fit travelers' interests and
incorporate what others can't: 15 years' experience introducing Americans to the
Cuban health system and the people dedicated to making it work. In short, an
insider's view like no other.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Cruise Cuba? Now it's possible

Cuba travel options for Americans keep expanding.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art just posted a trip, “Havana and Beyond Aboard Sea Spirit” on two dates -- April 5-15 and April 15-25 -- that has a twist not seen before in fledgling U.S.-Cuba tourism ventures.

Not only does it provide the “people to people” itinerary allowed by the U.S. government since 2011, it features a small ship cruise. Travelers will board the Sea Spirit in Montego Bay, Jamaica, then sail to various ports in Cuba such as Maria la Gorda, Isla de la Juventud, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Camagüey, Santiago de Cuba and Havana.

The trip starts at $7,995 per person. For more, call 212-650-2110 or seewww.metmuseum.org.

Both Cuba and the U.S. government have been incrementally loosening travel restrictions in the past year.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Cuba Today

draft program of the Fund for Reconciliation and Development, subject to change

Saturday Day 1
9:00 amCheck in with Gulfstream International Charters, Miami International Airport.
1:00 pmDepart on Sky King flight 5K-252
2:00 pmArrive Havana. Meet guide and drivers from Havanatur and transfer to the Hotel.
EveningCocktails and orientation with Prof. Tony Diaz, economist and professor of tourism at the University of Havana. Welcome dinner at El Barraca Restaurant at the Hotel Nacional,a regal art deco hotel from the 1930s that has played an important role in many different periods of Cuba’s modern history. Afterwards, a stroll on the Malécon, the seaside promenade that spans Havana, just at the foot of the Hotel Nacional.

Sunday Day 2
MorningBreakfast at the hotel. Travel to Regla, a small fishing and stevedore town across Havana Bay
for a visit to one of Cuba’s most important churches, the Church of the Black Virgin. For those who wish, a chance to attend services while others in the group can wander the streets of the town or visit the Museum of Regla with artifacts and relics of the town’s past. After services, the group will meet with the church Priest or the Deacon, a well known poet.
Mid morningReturn to Old Havana for a guided walking tour of the Old City. Take the opportunity to stop to Old Havana residents who usually are more than glad to talk with visitors. Take photographs and record impressions and conversations.
Mid dayLunch at a traditional Cuban restaurant in Old Havana, such as La Mina.
AfternoonContinue walking tour of Old Havana, ending at the Museum of the Revolution where the group will have a guided tour with a docent followed by the opportunity for questions & answers about the Cuban Revolution and its legacy in today’s Cuban society.
EveningDrive to the Morro Castle for dinner and the opportunity to explore the several small museums and exhibits in the restored fort, and then for the traditional cañonazo ceremony in a crowd of local Cubans as well as visitors from all over the globe. We suggest going up on the battlements to watch, which are both the best seats and also where most of the local people go to watch. Interestingly, the ceremony remains a perennial family outing event in Cuba and most of the spectators will be Cuban.

Monday Day 3
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Drive modern Havana by bus. Stop in the Plaza of the Revolution and visit the José Martií memorial. Meet with a docent who will explain the history of the monument and discuss the various important events that have taken place there. Time for questions & answers about the docent’s role, experiences and ideas about his or her work and the memorial. Continue exploring Modern Havana by bus, driving past Colón Cemetery, the Malecón, seawall, and through the neighborhoods of Vedado, Miramar and Siboney.
Mid dayLunch at El Aljibe Restaurant, famed for its special chicken dish since before the Revolution. From there visit the Casa Habano nearby for a meeting over coffee with a tobacco specialist who will explain the role that tobacco and cigars plays in Cuba’s history, culture and international economy and a discussion of Cuba’s dependency on a product that even Cuba itself deems injurious to health.
AfternoonVisit to the Antonio Nuñez Jimenez Foundation for Nature and Humanity, a cultural and
scientific nonprofit organization dedicated to protection of the environment, culture and society. Meet with a staff specialist in Environmental Education, Local Sustainability,or preservation of Cuba’s cultural patrimony.
From there, visit a nearby Community Garden or Farmers’ Market or, time permitting, both.
veningFree to explore one of several paladares (home based private restaurants) for dinner. Your guide will make reservations for you individually or in small groups and alert the restaurant owners that you would like the opportunity to discuss with their views on small enterprise in Cuba and the restaurant business in particular. (Direct payment for dinner.)

Tuesday Day 4
MorningBreakfast at the hotel. Depart for Pinar del Rio for the day, with the first stop Las Terrazas
Community, a town built in the early 1970s as part of an experimental community building project. The town has since the mid 1980s dedicated itself to ecotourism and to preserving the nearby biosphere and nature reserve. Town leaders and community members will show the group their town and answer questions.
Mid dayLunch at El Romero in Las Terrazas.
AfternoonContinue to the capital of the province, Pinar del Rio, for a visit to the project run by artist Jesús Carrete for children with Downs Syndrome. Meet the children and young adults. Deliver art supplies donated through a humanitarian project of the Center for Cuban Studies.
AfternoonReturn to Havana.
EveningAt leisure.

Wednesday Day 5
MorningBreakfast at the hotel. Meet with Adelina Fernandez or another specialist in International Relations at the Cuban Women’s Federation about the work of the Federation and the changing role of women.
Mid dayVisit to the Alamar Organiponic Farm. Alamar is a housing project on the outskirts of the city built in the 1960s and 70s. Since its inception it has gone through various phases and at present has several community organizing groups as well as the community farm you will visit. Opportunity to meet with local people. Mid day Lunch at the restaurant run by the Farm. (Direct payment, not included).
AfternoonReturning to Havana, meet with Alberto Faya, well known musician and musicologist, who will
talk to the group about the history and ties between the music of Cuba, the United States and Latin America as well as a number of other far reaching themes.
EveningCultural program.

Thursday Day 6
MorningBreakfast at the hotel. Meet at Casa de las Américas with Gloria Rolando, Daisy Rubiera, or
another prominent Afro-Cuban woman in the arts about their work and life.
Afterwards, depart for Matanzas Province, stopping first at the Severino Castle and museum to
the Slave Trade. From there, tour the city of Matanzas itself, including the Pharmacy Museum and Ediciones Vigía a privately run publishing house that produces handmade books of high artistic quality and employs a number of local women. Opportunity for discussion.
Mid dayLunch in Matanzas with an historian from the University of Matanzas who will talk with the group about the history of the slave trade in Cuba, as well as the history of Matanzas itself and why it was long known as the “Athens of the Caribbean”.
EveningReturn to Havana in the late afternoon. Evening on your own.

Friday Day 7
MorningBreakfast at the hotel. Meet with Rafael Hernandez or another prominent Cuban writer and
intellectual for a discussion of U.S.-Cuban relations and the road forward for our countries.
Mid dayLunch on your own.
Afternoon Break into small groups for independent activities with a local activist who will help the group to explore different neighborhoods and markets, conversing with local residents they encounter.
EveningFarewell dinner followed by Opera de la Calle, an impressive community street theater event.

Saturday Day 8
MorningBreakfast at the hotel.
Mid dayCheck out of hotel and transfer to the airport. Check in for flight, pay 25CUC airport departure tax, pass through Cuban Immigration and board your flight for home.
3:00 pmDepart on Sky King flight 5K-253, arriving Miami at approximately 4:00 pm. End of trip.

Departures:

April 20
May 18
June 22
July 20
Sept. 21
Oct 19
Nov. 23
New Year’s Special Dec. 29Trip Costs
Cost of the trip is $3400 to $3700 depending on season and hotel. Cost includes:
●RT air between Miami and Havana
●Accommodations at the Melia Cohiba or Habana Libre in double occupancy (single occupancy available)
●Breakfast daily at the hotel
●Welcome & farewell dinners and 4 lunches
●Transfers on arrival and departure
●Transportation by airconditioned bus for all scheduled program activities
●Program of activities, excursions, meetings and visits that maximize both the educational opportunities and the opportunity to meet and talk directly with the Cuban people
●English speaking guide permanently assigned to the group
●Program and service fees and honoraria
●Visa assistance
●Medical insurance in Cuba

Duke explores Cuba study abroad program

Administrators are in the early stages of making Cuba an accessible study abroad locale.

In light of loosened government travel restrictions implemented in 2011, the Global Education Office for Undergraduates has initiated an exploratory group to consider a study abroad program in Cuba, said Margaret Riley, director of the GEO and assistant vice provost for undergraduate global education. The United States has imposed travel restrictions to Cuba since 1960. Currently, independent travel to Cuba by Americans remains prohibited, but some students and individuals taking part in educational and humanitarian tours are allowed to visit the country.

The program administrators are discussing what would be an expansion of an existing study abroad program in Cuba through Brown University. The program would offer students the opportunity to experience life in the Caribbean country for an extended period of time. In the past, Duke has conducted programs in Cuba, but this would not be a reactivation of any previous programs.

In addition to meeting student interest for a program in Cuba, the study abroad option would also broaden the opportunities offered to students wishing to study Spanish. Last Fall, Duke only offered one semester-long international program in Latin America, which took place in Costa Rica. The other Spanish-speaking semester abroad program was in Madrid.

Duke is collaborating with other high caliber American universities to discuss the possibility of expanding Brown’s program, Riley said. If realized, the program would follow the same model as the Duke in Barcelona/Consortium for Advanced Studies in Barcelona program beginning Fall 2013.

The Barcelona program was formed as a combined study abroad effort among several universities who observed that there was growing interest in Barcelona as a host city for study abroad, yet there were limited program options for students. These U.S. partners created a consortium to offer academic study alongside Spanish natives in the area. Administrators hope to create a similar consortium called the Center for Advanced Studies Abroad, which would include a program in Cuba.

Brown in Cuba is based in the capital city Havana. Students in the program are introduced to Cuban culture and everyday life through orientation programs, and enroll in courses to understand the key issues facing the country today, according to the program’s website. The program centers upon the social sciences, arts and the humanities.

Joan Clifford, assistant director of the Spanish language program, reached out to the GEO to offer her full support of a Cuba program after returning from a recent eight-day trip to the country.

“At various times on my trip, I began to contemplate how enriching a study abroad experience would be, since I myself was enthusiastic about the warmth of the people, the rich artistic and intellectual tradition and the complex political situation,” Clifford wrote in an email Wednesday .

Junior Detti Belina, who studied in Madrid Fall 2012, is excited by the prospect of a Cuba study abroad option.

“Despite the complicated history of Cuban-American relations and concerns over the nation’s socialist government, a study abroad opportunity there would offer a mind-opening and unique experience to Duke students,” Belina said.

Duke is also participating in exploratory groups in other locations, Riley noted. One such program could be in Turkey, where Duke would be the lead institution. In addition, the University could collaborate with Stanford University on a program in Chile.

Although she is excited that the GEO is taking part in discussions on enhanced study abroad offerings, Riley said that all programs are in their early stages and no concrete progress has yet been made for the Cuba program.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Cuba at a Crossroads:
Sustainable Tourism Development in a Time of Political
Change

Summer
Session II, July 15-27, 2013

Havana,
Las Terrazas, the Vinales Valley and Playa Giron

Objectives:

It
is an important time for the country of Cuba, its communities, its people, and
its economic development. As the political climate shifts, tourism development
across all regions continues to grow. Experiencing Cuba in this context will allow
students to gain a valuable perspective unique to tourism within this cultural
and political environment. The course features interactions with various
stakeholders in the Cuban tourism industry, including tour guides and operators,
small tourism business owners, University of Havana faculty, Ministry of Tourism
employees, and tourists. The course will take place in Havana, Las Terrazas, the
Vinales Valley and Playa Giron, which serve as examples of current tourist
destinations that have been developed to cater to very different tourist
markets.

The program and eligibility:

Participants
must be enrolled in a discipline related to tourism or sustainability (e.g.
recreation, geography, business, marketing, communication, ecology,
environmental studies, anthropology, landscape architecture) at East Carolina
University or other academic institutions. The course is open to MS and PhD
students with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Participants will be required to complete the
ECU study abroad application byJanuary 31, 2013 as well as a
brief application to assess goals of participation, international travel
experiences and level of maturity.

Program Costs:The cost of the 13-day
program program is $2,100. The single fee covers the following
expenses: